Len (band)

Len is a Canadian alternative rock duo based in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of siblings Marc Costanzo (vocals, guitar) and Sharon Costanzo (vocals, bass) and a revolving lineup of touring and studio musicians. The group is best known for their 1999 single " Steal My Sunshine".

History

Marc Costanzo began recreationally recording music at the age of 13 years old. These recordings were predominately helmed by Marc, although his older sister Sharon sometimes contributed vocals to the recordings. In 1991, Marc began to produce music under the pseudonym of Len as a solo project. The name was taken from a high school friend of Marc's named Lenny. Sharon officially joined this project a year later, thus marking Len's first iteration as a duo. Len began as a punk rock band, with pop music influences. Between 1992 and 1997, the brother-sister duo independently released a self-titled extended play and two studio albums, ''Superstar'' (1995) and ''Get Your Legs Broke'' (1997).

In 1994, "Candy Pop" was recorded and used as the theme song for the newest season of CBC's Streetcents. In March 1994, the band released a split-cassette release on No Records, which also featured Hip Club Groove, Zoltar, and Chaz Rules.

As ''Superstar'' was recorded when the band were in Halifax, the band shot some music videos for the songs "Candy Pop", "Show Off", and "Slacker", and the album featured many alumni of the Halifax music scene, such as Joel Plaskett, Michael Catano, and Chris Murphy. The band performed at the 1995 Halifax Pop Explosion, for a No Cases No Records showcase, of which they were signed to, at the time.

Marc estimated both ''Superstar'' & ''Get Your Legs Broke'' sold around 10-15,000 units each. While these two albums received minimal attention in Canada, the duo found difficulty in attracting attention from major record labels. The band had their first taste of success when they received retroactive acclaim for the song "Candy Pop".

In 1998, Len signed with the American label Work Group. In 1999, Len released a more hip-hop oriented album, '' You Can't Stop the Bum Rush''. A song from the album, " Steal My Sunshine", featuring a sample of the disco track " More, More, More" by the Andrea True Connection,Brunner, Rob.
"'Steal' this hook"
''Entertainment Weekly'', issue 501, page 69. September 3, 1999. Retrieved October 2, 2008. was released as a single. It peaked at number three on the RPM Top Singles chart and also peaked within the top ten in various other countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and became Len's biggest hit. Len was nominated for a 2000 Juno Award as best new group, and the album was nominated as Best Alternative Album.

After the song, Len's fame dropped, but they continued to release albums until 2005, followed by a seven-year hiatus. During this hiatus, Marc announced the group's disbandment in a MySpace message dated 2008. He stated: "...it looks like we're not gonna make another len record. Just couldn't get it ( and everyone ) together." He still, however, announced he and Sharon would still record another album together. Despite this, Len returned with Marc and Sharon in October 2012, in which they released their fifth studio album ''It's Easy If You Try''. The album was promoted with one single, "It's My Neighborhood", which had a music video featuring scenes of Toronto residents lip syncing to the song.

In 2016, Marc announced it is unlikely they will record another album.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Guest appearances

Awards

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Len
Canadian musical duos
Canadian alternative rock groups
Canadian pop music groups
Musical groups established in 1991
1991 establishments in Ontario
Musical groups from Toronto
Sibling musical duos
Male–female musical duos
EMI Records artists
Epic Records artists
Columbia Records artists
DreamWorks Records artists